We have found through our research that this is a sadly typical scenario for the 11 percent of students who have disabilities in California and elsewhere.

Special education is a complicated topic, and the way in which it is implemented has far reaching impacts on academic performance, discipline protocols, school climate, staffing, and budgets. These impacts make it imperative that special education be considered in parallel with other topics considered by the School Board throughout the year.

Thank you for your previous support and interest in snkids.org, whether through our Measure V postcard campaign, as a member, or through pure interest in our work (which is why you’re on our list)!

We have been not reached out for a while, but we have been busy planning how we can best use our time and efforts to make positive change… to reach better outcomes for all special needs kids!

We’re ready to move forward to make some positive change… and we need you!

Improving public accountability for special education is one of our top priorities.

We believe that all School Board decisions impact on all kids– including kids with disabilities – yet, general knowledge of rights, responsibilities, requirements, available resources, best practices, budgeting, and often-raised issues by teachers, staff, families and students, do not seem to be getting the attention they deserve to best serve our students and to result in the better outcomes we need them to have.

Existing mechanisms, including PTA groups, committees, and the SELPA’s Community Advisory Committee (CAC), are not reaching enough people to effectively function as public input and accountability tools.

To allow for valuable input, feedback and recommendations from the disability and special education community’s stakeholders on a vast array of District issues, we are proposing that a standing District Advisory Committee be formed – a Disability and Special Education District Advisory Committee ( a “DSEDAC”). The DESEDAC would be comprised of parents, teachers, staff, and community members who have expertise and an interest in ensuring that our educational systems and District functions are considerate of the unique needs of students, parents and teachers with disabilities to allow for equitable opportunities for success.

We hope to have your support in this campaign to get a DSEDAC approved in the San Mateo-Foster City School District… and then elsewhere!

We think that we can do this by reaching out to individual school PTAs, teachers, staff, the unions and the community at large to help us encourage the school board to adopt this resolution.

Depending on the time you have to help (a few minutes… or more!), we have identified the following actions to move this initiative forward:

Send an email to the SMFC School Board Trustees and Dr. Rosas (see emails below)

Call each of the SMFC School Board Trustees (see phone numbers below)

Send a Letter or Postcard to the SMFC School Board Trustees and Dr. Rosas at the SMFC District Office – 1170 Chess Drive, Foster City, CA 94404 – We have postcards! Contact us at steve@snkids.org or chelsea@snkids.org and we’ll provide these for you!

If you’re involved in your school’s PTA, share the Resolution with them and ask for their support. We are happy to come to PTA meetings to speak and ask for support, if you’d like. We can also provide a template letter for your PTA to forward to the SMFC School Board Trustees and Dr. Rosas.

We will provide you with updates on our progress toward getting this Resolution adopted and the DSEDAC formed. As always, we welcome your feedback by email, phone, and we are also willing to meet with you! Just let us know.